By Laura
Updated: August 18, 2023
7 minutes
Fabletics and Lululemon are two of the biggest activewear brands out there. Both companies aim to bring style, comfort, and authentic texture design to athletes – amateurs or professionals – seeking excellent activewear. Active wears are relaxed pieces of clothing that are comfortable for exercising.
Given the close resemblance of the offers of both brands, you may be confused about which to choose. However, comparing both companies in this piece will clarify the best for you. Of course, we will examine them using specific parameters like style, size range, price, and quality. But a brief history of both brands won’t be the wrong way to start.
History! Fabletics vs. Lululemon
Let’s start from the foundation: their history! Both brands are arguably among the best in their countries and worldwide. But here is how they both compare in this regard.
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Fabletics |
Lululemon |
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Country of origin: USA |
Country of origin: Canada |
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Year of foundation: 2013 ( 10 years ago) |
Year of foundation: 1998 (25 years ago) |
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Brief history: the co-founders of Fabletics, Adam Goldenberg, Don Ressler, and Ginger Ressler, launched Fabletics after they saw a gap in the activewear marketplace in the mid-2000s: There were plenty of luxury brands, but none that offered high-quality, stylish gear at accessible prices. At the time, lululemon dominated the market with a cost of over $100 per pair of leggings. Today, Fabletics is renowned for its fashion-forward, performance-driven designs guided by its foundational belief: that everyone and everybody deserves to look and feel their best. |
Brief history: Like many other disruptive innovations, lululemon began with a simple observation. The founder of lululemon, Chip Wilson, when he was at a yoga class, noticed that the women around him were all wearing ill-fitting cotton clothing, not appropriate for sweating and stretching integral to yoga. So, Lululemon started as a design studio by day and a yoga studio by night. The original vision for the store was to create a place where people could get workout gear comfortable enough to sweat in and a place where people could learn and discuss the physical and mental aspects of healthy living. Lululemon became a standalone store in November 2000. The first designs were made for women to wear during yoga. ‘Lulu,’ the abbreviated form of Lululemon, has developed into a forward-thinking and quality-obsessed brand |
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Main features: Fabletics is primarily known for its distinctive membership business model, which sets it apart from other activewear retailers. Rather than making one-time purchases (although that is still an option), most Fabletics customers pay a membership fee to receive monthly credits for a new outfit. |
Main features: Lululemon, on the other hand, is known for offering technical athletic apparel for yoga, running, dancing, training, and other sweaty pursuits, as well as lounge and streetwear. |
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Reputation: Fabletics’ style is great, but the quality is not as high as that of Lululemon. However, the prices are lower and closer to what you’ll find at target. So, the value is perfect for the money. Also, Fabletics merch comes in various sizes to fit all body shapes. |
Reputation: Lululemon is a trusted brand. It is also a trendy brand known for high-quality products—fans of lululemon rave over the perfect designs and quality of their clothing. |
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Focus: Fabletics is an athletic wear and accessories brand focusing on high-quality, stylish, affordable activewear. While the brand primarily targets women, the company also has a men’s line called FL2. |
Focus: lululemon, on the other hand, focuses more on top-quality, technically advanced products that offer exceptional and proprietary innovations. |
Bottom Line: If you’re a conservative who loves timeless elegance and brands with history and pride regardless of the price, then lululemon is a perfect choice for you. Conversely, if you are a fan of low-cost, brave, and bold clothing styles, Fabletics is what you need.
Fabletics vs. Lululemon: Range of items
Lululemon started as a design studio by day and a yoga studio by night before becoming a standalone store in 2000. Fabletics, on the other hand, jumped straight into the athletic wear industry after finding whitespace. Both sell similar products, as you can see from the table below.
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Fabletics |
Lululemon |
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Tops Sports Bra Jackets/pullovers Tights Joggers Shorts Socks Panties Headbands Gym bags |
Pants Tops Shorts Jackets Bags Socks Yoga mats |
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Primary specialization: Yoga wears |
Primary specialization: Yoga and exercise apparel |
Although lululemon has established itself as a brand for high-quality yoga materials, it is constantly working to meet the needs of true lovers. That’s why you have such an opportunity if you want to treat yourself with luxury leggings, pants, or jackets. However, the world is concerned about the prices of their goods.
On the other hand, Fabletics is known mainly for its affordable and stylish materials, headbands, and other accessories that add to the Fabletics store.
Fabletics vs. Lululemon: Prices
At first glance, one may root for Fabletics as a cheaper brand than Lululemon. For instance, Fabletics leggings range from $18 to $60, while Lululemon sells the same for $90 – $120. In addition, sports bras, loungewear, and other products tend to follow a similar price pattern for both brands.
But you may wonder if the $50/month Fabletics VIP membership payment is worth it. The initial member signup deal is fantastic because you get the 2-for $24 discount. However, to maintain membership, this payment has to continue, even when you aren’t making any purchases. This arrangement may not be profitable for everyone.
Fabletics vs. Lululemon: Style
Another critical thing for fashionistas in deciding which brand is better is the style. When purchasing activewear, getting the one that fits your style is best.
So now, we’ll have a closer look at the styles of both brands.
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Fabletics |
Lululemon |
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Styles: Modern, fun, and playful |
Styles: Formal, elegant, minimalist, and classy |
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Ad campaigns: Fabletics, as a fashionable activewear brand, has been fairing in its ad campaigns. Its strategy as of 2015 was positioning itself as an approachable yet stylish activewear brand. Since many of their ambassadors are active on Instagram, they use branded hashtags to keep the public informed and track their mentions. Their celebrity ambassadors include Kate Hudson, Demi Lovato, and Vanessa Hudgens. |
Ad campaigns: Lululemon keeps proving to be a strong apparel company that even giants can’t touch. They grew by becoming a lifestyle brand beyond having some products to sell. By promoting a healthy lifestyle, lululemon could create a community of active enthusiasts who love the premium quality. On the homepage of lululemon, you can find their vision to be a brand that discusses all the physical aspects of mindfulness, healthy living, and a life of possibility. In 2019, lululemon grew its portfolio by acquiring more male customers (mainly dealing with females) and planned to promote brand awareness among men. Lululemon’s strategy for campaigning includes: inventing a new and better product, focusing on building the community and customers’ needs, creating a lifestyle, making use of the brand ambassadors, and engaging in social media. |
As you can see, the two brands have completely different approaches to style and presentation, allowing them to gain the love of their target audience. While Fabletics fans can admire the fun, modern and playful feel, Lululemon lovers are attracted by their elegance, class, vivid, and bright lifestyle.
Fabletics vs. Lululemon: Social Media Interactions
Now, let’s see how each brand interacts with its audience. In the modern world, it’s a vital factor for each business as we learn the latest news and updates from social media.
Therefore, how do Fabletics and Lululemon feel about technology?
Fabletics and lululemon are present in the most popular social media – Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. So let’s check their numbers and activity there!
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Fabletics |
Lululemon |
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Instagram: 1.9m followers |
Instagram: 4.4m followers |
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Twitter: 36.7k followers |
Twitter: 979. 9k followers |
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Tiktok: 131.4k |
Tiktok: 585.6k followers |
Both Fabletics and lululemon have their highest followers on Instagram.
While Fabletics uses its Instagram to keep track of its mentions and inform the public, lululemon has been doing wonders with its page. It consistently replies positively to each of its observations and customers’ comments.
Fabletics vs. Lululemon: Celebrities
The brand’s promotion is often more successful when a celebrity is involved. Celebrities wear clothes showing the logo of the brand. If we put aside the ad campaigns, which the artists are paid for, and look at the photos of paparazzi from the streets and official ceremonies, we can notice that some celebrities have made their choice. Let’s find out who is in the Fabletic gang and who belongs to the Lululemon club!
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Fabletics |
Lululemon |
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Kate Hudson Dani Lovato Whitney port Kelly Rowland Alison Holker Coelynn Miller-Keyes Madeleine Justu |
Paris Hilton Malia Manuel Craig Moonrise Ryan Leier Charlie Dark Brady lemon Ashtyn Rothschild Chris Ryan… |
Fabletics vs. Lululemon: Where to buy
If you have made up your mind and want to add lovely leggings, joggers, tights, socks, or sports bras of either Fabletics or lululemon to your collection, you most certainly would like to know where you can purchase the items that catch your fancy. The good news for everyone is that; there are no problems with shopping in this age, 21st century.
No matter where you live (rural or urban) or how much you earn, you can still buy stuff. Yes, you can buy online! Fabletics started as an online active wear store and gradually built into physical stores. However, Fabletics have few physical stores compared to Lululemon.
Here are the ways to get the things you wish to buy:
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Fabletics |
Lululemon |
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Local store |
Outlets |
Fabletics vs. Lululemon: Which Brand is Better?
Both brands appear to be top of a wealthy and comfortable lifestyle. However, although they sell almost the same products, we can see that they aren’t following the same path and have a completely different approach to their range of products, target audience, and advertisement.
Moreover, even the idea behind each brand is unique. While Fabletics keeps proving that high quality and styles can still be affordable, lululemon continues experimenting with fashion, showing us that it can adapt to any generation and concept.
If you were reluctant and wondering which brand is better: Fabletics or lululemon, now you know more about each brand and can decide based on multiple factors. No matter which side you choose, we hope you will be happy and satisfied with your purchase.
